Frozen Out
by MJLon
Summary: Mulder and Scully take a journey that gives them a glimpse of Dana's future. Mulder gets a little insight into what might be waiting for him too...
1. Chapter 1

The car shrieked as Mulder held his foot down on the peddle and it shook with the effort the engine was making to pull it out of the drift.

Scully had to wait until Mulder had stopped before she could tell him to quit it or she wouldn't have been heard. He pressed the gas again to show he would stop in his own good time and then gave up. Looking at the wall of snow on his side window he murmured, "Well Scully, looks like you're going to have to get out and push."

He looked round at her a smirk playing on his lips.

"Mulder this isn't funny. We're miles from anywhere and nobody knows we're here. That's thanks to you as well. People die like this."

Mulder stared ahead and Scully could tell that he wanted to make another wise-crack for the last word. Instead he had decided to sulk. Scully tutted and glared at the coating of snow on the windscreen.

"Put on the wipers before they freeze up will you," Scully said.

"I don't think that we're going to hit anything, do you?".

"Just do it so that I can see. It's getting claustrophobic in here." And has been since we set off, she thought. Mulder was playing up like a kid again and it wasn't endearing. He was being spiteful and mean and the rub of it seemed to be because Scully had a new friend. She wondered how a grown man could be so childish.

The windscreen wipers lurched an inch and then stuck. Scully's stomach turned. Then with a second effort the wipers moved again, cutting a few more inches out of the casing of snow on the windshield before forcing a full arc. Mulder and Scully stared ahead and then at each other.

"What the hell was that," Mulder yelled and flung open his door to scramble out of the car. The wipers were now moving sluggishly back and forth but were fighting a losing battle to keep the view clear. Snow flakes the size of medallions were making it impossible.

"Mulder, wait!" Scully screamed. Mulder was already gone and she unfastened her seat-belt to pull his door closed . Freezing air had filled the car and and snow was blowing in. She struggled with the door which felt as though someone was deliberately holding it before managing to pull it closed with a slam when the wind turned in her favour.

In those few moments her ears became sore with the cold and felt too fragile to touch and her fingers had become stiff. Her face felt as though it had been whipped. Struggling to get her coat from the back seat she tried to watch Mulder in the brief flashes that the wipers afforded her. The car was facing the other side of the road where Mulder now stood, and he looked like he was at the edge of either a hill or maybe even a drop. He was wearing a jumper although in those conditions it might as well have been a T-shirt.

Having found her jacket she coaxed it on in the confines of the car, numb fingers tugging at it and slipping from the buttons. She looked up. "Christ Mulder, where are you?" Snow filled the scene again.

Anxiously Scully waited for another pass of the wipers. Still nothing. And then another wait before the clearance and Scully gasped. She was sure she had seen it again. Whatever Mulder had gone running out after and what to her looked to be, in the flash of vision she was given, a small boy in a red coat. Scully banged her hand against the window in frustration as though she could dislodge the snow. The next time the boy was gone and there was still no Mulder.

"For Christ's sake Mulder," Scully shouted. "What am I supposed to do now? Kill myself looking for you?" The wipers stopped. "No don't give up me. Please," she said. She waggled the stick that controlled them and got no response.

She sat alone in the white-walled prison and thought, Mulder is dead and I'm going to die right here. She wanted to cry but more she wanted to do something. The same thoughts kept running through her head and got dismissed in the same way. Get out and look for Mulder - no you'll die. Phone someone - phone's not had any signal for the last 60km. Scream - what's the point? At the end of this list she felt the tears welling but before they could happen she started again. "Mulder, you bastard." She was muttering it like a mantra. Immature, impulsive, irresponsible Mulder had killed himself and left her to die. "Mulder you bastard, Mulder you bastard." She was rocking back and forth trying to get warm, trying not to think.

Then a new thought entered her mind. The boy in the red coat walking slowly towards the car. Wearing a wind-cheater that couldn't protect him from this weather and yet he seemed ok. One of Mulder's ghosts? Or one of Mulder's ghouls; a flesh-eater that would be slowly circling his prey, pulling open the door and smiling in her face with Mulder's blood on its teeth with a little boy's smile and dead, dead eyes.

Scully hit the central lock button and felt even more imprisoned as the locks thunked into place. "Mulder, you bastard, Mulder, you bastard."

Again she was picturing the little boy walking towards the car. This time carrying Mulder's head, wandering about in minus god-knows-what as though it were a spring day. So real it could be a premonition. Stop it, she thought. Don't think it and it will go away. Approaching the car hungry for blood. Stop it, make it go away. Resting the head on top of the car and reaching for the door; Mulder dead and her fault for thinking it. Little fingers slipping under the handle...

And the door handle next to Scully began to rattle. She screamed.

But it was Mulder's face that showed through the the glass he cleared with his arm and she hit the unlock button and opened the door, hanging on to it tightly to stop it being pulled out of her grasp by the elements. Mulder clambered over her, his feet waving dangerously close to her face. She pushed him away and he rolled against the door of the driver's side while Scully fought to get the door closed.

"Jesus Christ Mulder! What do you think you were doing?"

Mulder was shivering uncontrollably. There were thick wads of snow in his hair and his clothes were caked in it like it was icing sugar. And beneath that was ice cold water.

Scully climbed over to the back to reach into the trunk and pulled her suitcase free and onto the backseat. She opened it and pulled out a towel which she tried to hand to Mulder, but he couldn't reach for it. His hand were tucked under his arm pits and he had gone fetal trying to get warm.

She got back in front and started to dry his hair. "Come on Mulder, you've got to help me." She could see the pain in his eyes as he tried to take the towel, so cold that he didn't even seem to know what was going on. "Dry your hair Mulder. I'll get you some more clothes."

From the back seat she dragged out Mulder's hold-all and got him new clothes. "Put these on," she shouted at him like he was a foreigner and dropped them on the front passenger seat. She couldn't really tell if he understood her, but he made a start with his jumper and then on his shirt before stopping and hugging the icy material towards him. "Mulder, you have to change or you'll get hypothermia." The heater was pumping away on full power and she desperately hoped it wasn't too late. She reached around his chair from behind and ripped open the shirt. He grasped at it. "Mulder come on."

At last he was pulling off the shirt and dabbing at himself with the towel, reaching for the sweater she had thrown on the front seat. Then he was peeling off the trousers. She grabbed the legs and helped yank them off as struggled on the seat. They were weighty with the amount of snowy water they had absorbed. She had thrown more tops onto the front seat and two pairs of pants, one pair tracksuit to go over the other pair. And last she pushed the cases back into the trunk. "Get on the rear seat and lie down," she said.

Mulder staggered over to the back and she moved forward to let him lie down.

"God, I'm so tired," Mulder mumbled. "Get me out a sleeping bag."

"Just stay as you are for now. Rest your feet up on the door ledge."

Scully turned the heating down and slipped off her coat. All the activity had warmed her up and now she had to hope that Mulder could start warming himself up from the inside out.

Mulder's voice was weak and cracked. "Scully, if I don't make it there's a town..."

"A town. What are you talking about?"

"Just over there. And it's not snowing."

"God, Mulder. You're fine. You're going to be fine. We'll go there when you're better."  
Scully looked at him with concern and then crawled back into the well beside him. Mulder's eyes were closed and he was breathing slowly, his mouth slightly open. She waited until he was about to breathe in and then put her lips on his and gently blew.

Mulder's eyes opened to a slit. "Scully...?"

She stroked his hair and hushed him. His eyes closed again and she breathed with him again sending her hot breath deep inside him.

"Hey Scully, maybe I just died and went to heaven," Mulder said with his eyes still closed. There was a twitch of his lips and the sardonic grin was there for a moment and then gone again. Scully gave him a couple more of her breaths before hoisting herself back into the front.

The car was now dark from the mass of snow on the windows and she wondered whether she should wind down a window to knock some of the snow off so there would be some light. Instead she decided to sleep. God Mulder I hope you're going to ok, she thought. I really need to shout at you.


	2. Chapter 2

"Scully. Scully wake up!" Mulder was shaking Scully's shoulder and she slapped at his hand irritably before waking properly.

"What's happening?" She asked. She reached back towards him grabbing his sleeve in the darkness while she tried to collect herself. Then it snapped into place; the crash, Mulder going and coming back near collapse, and the damn snow.

"Whoa…" Mulder shouted as he heard Scully trying to force the door open.

"Mulder, get off me. I don't know how long we've been asleep or how much snow we're under. We could be buried for it to be this dark. We have to get out of here before it's too late." Her fight with the door was frantic.

Mulder flicked on a flashlight. "Not a big fan of the dark?"

"Not a big fan of being buried alive," Scully snapped back. "In fact not a big fan of being buried at all. Get that light out of my face." She was less panicked now that she could see. "Give me that," she said and snatched the torch from him.

She shone it near Mulder enough to illuminate him. "How are you feeling?"

Mulder shrugged. "I feel fine. Hey Scully, you didn't try and take advantage of me when I was out for the count did you. I had the strangest dream. You were…"

"I was doing everything I could do to save your life. Whereas you seem determined to get us both killed. And Mulder, for the record, I don't want to die and especially not because of one of your ill-conceived plans." She switched off the torch so as not to look at the hurt in his eyes.

"Scully, you know that I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. The car flipped out, I couldn't help that. And I have to admit that with hindsight letting someone know where we were going when we set out would have been a good idea. OK I'm sorry for that."

There was silence.

"But on a more positive note there is town just across the way and it isn't snowing there."  
Scully became rigid with shock.

"Are you still there?"

"I'm still here Mulder. What did you just say?"

"There's a town just across the way where there's no snow. I was coming back to get you when I lost my bearings. Thought I wasn't going to find the damn car."

Scully's tone was measured. "Do you know how ridiculous that sounds Mulder?"

"How ridiculous what sounds?"

"That next to a road where there is a blizzard and a temperature of about minus twenty there should be a town where it isn't snowing."

"Well, you hear about houses where during a thunderstorm it will be raining out back and sunny out the front. Maybe it's like that."

"And this town of yours Mulder. Is it warm? Does your explanation account for that?

"It could be an airflow thing. I don't know, Geography was a bit of a miss with me."

"We've got to get out of here so we can see what's going on outside and we can work out what to do then. I'll try and get the door open although I think it's frozen. You should rest."

"That's ok, I'll help you with the door."

Scully turned the torch on and Mulder got in front and lay down across the seats. Scully held the door handle in the open position and Mulder began to kick using both of his feet. There was no movement from the door for the first two blows, and then on the third there was a screech and it moved slightly encouraging Mulder to make the last kick the biggest. The door banged open and bright light filled the car. Everywhere the snow reflected the daylight.

And with the light the bitter temperature filled the capsule as well. Scully reached for the heater and turned it off to save the battery.

Mulder had dived in the back and was passing clothing to Scully and pulling on his coat. "Put your boots on," he said passing them to her.

Scully ripped off her sneakers and forced the hiking boots onto her feet, all the while with the wind cutting around the car. Her numb fingers managed to pull the laces together and then she was out of the car.

Mulder followed on behind and they both tried to stand in the violent onslaught of the wind. Mulder turned and wrestled the door back into place. Scully was pulling her hat on and making to try and clear the windshield.

"Leave it," Mulder yelled and seized her arm and began pulling her out into the road.

"Where are we going?"

"This way." Mulder pulled her some more and could feel that she was pulling back on him. "Come on. If you don't believe me about the town, then you're going to need some cover for a bathroom stop."

"Christ Mulder, I don't think so." But vanity won her over as she hoped it would be possible out here as she was feeling quite uncomfortable, especially once the icy wind had bitten into her.

Like a geriatric couple the pair staggered across the road, buffeted by the wind. Scully was only glad that she had worn a pant-suit which she preferred for long journeys. There had been no original plan to end up in Canada so the warm clothes she had with her were only the emergency ones she took with her wherever she went. At least they had turned in their own car and rented something a bit sturdier though it had done them little good – as the guy who had rented it to them had warned.

As they approached the edge of the road Scully pulled up to a stop which nearly took them both off their feet.

"What about that boy? Who was it?" She yelled.

"It was nothing," Mulder yelled back. "Come on or we'll both freeze."

Scully started to move again, only because it was too painful to stay stopped. At the very edge of the road the wind seemed to rally itself into one huge force and the two agents had to lean right into it to stay standing. The icy whorls blew straight through the material of their pants and sliced up sleeves and outmatched the coats they wore. They stood there unable to move forward because the wind was stopping them or backwards as they would be knocked down if they changed their angles. And then it dropped for a moment and they both lurched forwards.

As they rushed forwards with the sudden loss of opposition they found themselves stepping onto a slope beside the road where Mulder was the first to lose his footing. His hand was still on Scully's arm so he took her down with him. Mulder had landed long ways and was rolling and Scully was sliding behind him. Hidden rocks and stumps jutted into them as they careered through the snow, but nothing stopped them until Mulder rolled to a halt at the bottom and Scully crunched into the back of him.

Scully looked up to see if Mulder was ok. Instead she was distracted by the sight she saw over his body. A town. Suburban in every way. Estate cars parked in drive-ways, carefully maintained lawns, tree lined streets and, most startling of all, no snow. Judging by the leaves blowing about in the gentle breeze it would be fall in this enclave.

Scully looked over her shoulder to see her booted feet still lying in the snow and she pulled them out to sit on the grass they had landed on. Although she was still bitterly cold she could tell that it was from where they had been and not where they were now.

"Mulder," she hissed. "Are you ok?"

"If this isn't a delusion," he said pulling himself up to sit next to her, "then I should say that I'm fine." He gave her a lop-sided grin.

Scully looked in wonder along the line of snow that evenly surrounded this town as though it had been swept back there.

"There must be some kind of heating grid," she mused.

"And how does a heating grid stop the wind?" Mulder asked.

"I don't know, I just got here," Scully said not trying to cover her irritation. "But however it's done, it's clever."

"Well admirable as it is to look at, I suggest we go and find a pleasant local who might give some weary travellers a bit of kindness." Mulder stood up.

Scully got to her feet. "Well, I guess we may as well. Let's hope the native's are friendly."


	3. Chapter 3

"Dana!" Mulder and Scully turned back to look up the drive of the house they were passing.

An elderly man was waving from the porch leaning on the broomstick he had been sweeping with.

Scully peered at him, sure she didn't know the voice, although still trying to get a look at the face in the shadow of the house.

"I thought you were going to be gone all day Dana. Did you get my CD?"

Scully shrugged her open hands to show that she had forgotten the CD. As she did so she walked up the drive towards him, her gesture looking as though she was trying to tell him that she meant him no harm. Mulder followed, trying to note all that was happening.

"Never mind. You've a lot on your mind. Maybe next time you go into the city. Can I fix you and your..." The old man waved a hand towards Mulder, "...friend a drink?"

Scully indicated Mulder robotically and said, "Mulder. His name's Mulder."

Before she could decide what to do about the other man's name, he had thrown his broom to the floor, and was loping down the steps hand outstretched. "Fox Mulder? Well, hello there. What a surprise! Dan Vain, Dana's father-in-law. She's spoken about you so much, it's like I already know you."

"Likewise Mr Vain," Mulder said, taking the other man's hand.

"Call me Dan. What's this all about? You didn't say Fox was coming to pay a visit," the man said putting his arms around both Mulder and Scully and drawing them both to him. "Does Ricky know?"

"No," Scully mumbled. "I just bumped into him in the city . Totally unexpected."

"Unbelievable. What on earth could bring you out this way Mulder. One of your cases I expect – are you still in the business? Never mind that now. Ricky would love to see you, I'm sure of it."

With that Dan lead them across the road in an excited shuffle, his arms still around them, until he got to the bottom of the steps leading up to a house there. He released them and bounded up to the door pushing it straight open.

"Not much for security in this leafy suburb," Mulder noted wryly. He gently put his hand on Scully's back to encourage her up the steps.

A moment later Mulder stopped, putting the names together. "Ricky Vain..."

"Mulder!" Ricky Vain said from the doorway.

"Isn't it amazing? Scully just bumped into him when she was shopping. What a coincidence," Dan said.

"What a coincidence!" Ricky said. Only Dan missed the coolness in his voice.

"Let's go in Ricky. Aren't you going to ask us all in?"

Ricky stared at Scully for a moment. "Yes of course, come on in. I'll put some more coffee on."

Inside, the house was full and tidy. There were many photographs on walls and tables. As the group hovered in the sitting room Mulder looked at a familiar picture of Scully graduating and smiled on her happy face. It was nice to see something that hadn't changed. Ricky had put on 20 pounds and his hair was flecked with grey."

"I'll put the coffee on. You guys start catching up," Dan said waving them all towards his son's couch.

Mulder sat down with Scully next to him. Ricky sat in an armchair opposite. "Well Mulder, how long has it been?" Ricky asked.

'About three days,' Mulder thought looking at the man in front of him and trying to work out how much older he looked. "Well, I don't know Ricky. It's been a while."

Ricky nodded slowly. "About eight years."

"Eight years?" This time it was Mulder who nodded slowly. "Well, time flies doesn't it?" he said and flicked a grin at Scully. "It only seems like days ago that Ricky was warning me not to get in the way of his pursuit of Dana. And look where it all ended up. Beautiful home, by the way."

"Thanks," Ricky said. "I seem to remember you could be a real prick when it came to Dana. Not wanting her for yourself and not wanting anyone else to have her."

"Well not anybody who was just a jumped up college boy riding on his brother's coat tails," Mulder said.

"Do you two mind!" Scully said. "I don't want to sit here watching an antler fight."

Ricky glanced at her and then looked back at Mulder. "Dana, go and help Dad in with the drinks."

Scully stood up and, for a moment, looked as though she was going to let fly. Instead she walked over to Ricky and gently squeezed his hand before walking out of the room.

"No wise-cracks?" Ricky asked. "Don't you mind seeing your Scully playing housewife?"

Mulder was silent. Confused that it was his Scully that seemed, in an instant, to have lived eight years of history with Ricky Vain.

"Too much time has passed for me to worry about this bull, Mulder. Can I fix you a real drink?"

"Thanks," Mulder said and pushed himself further back into the couch.

A moment later Ricky handed over the drink and sat down next to Mulder. "Listen, Mulder. Fox, whatever you want me to call you. I was angry for a long time with you. After I left the bureau, I held you responsible. I thought I couldn't bear working with you. The truth is, I never really wanted to work for the Feds anyway." He paused. "The only reason I stuck around as long as I did was that I had my eye on Dana. And you got in the way of that with her dedication to your mission."

"Well, she's dedicated," Mulder said.

"So, yes, I was there to keep up with my brother. Maybe on his coat tails. Maybe you just underestimate me. But I know how you feel about Dana. She even told me about the trip up to Canada. We'd been dating a while when she told me and I really hated you then. More than ever." Ricky breathed out heavily and took a swig on his drink.

"She swore that was the only time you made love to her Mulder. Is that the truth. Was that the only time?"

Mulder moved uncomfortably. "I think you should just trust her, Ricky."

"I do trust her. But I want to hear it from you."

"You've got a nice set up here Ricky, and you've got the girl. If it's any consolation, then that was the only time."

"Can we be civil for my dad and for Dana? I mean, I feel OK about you Mulder."

"I guess I can let bygones be bygones. Eight years is a long time and Scully seems happy. So tell me, what have you been up to?"

"Coffee's ready." It was Scully who said it, carrying the cups, with Dan following behind with the cream.

The afternoon passed pleasantly and Mulder made up some cases to fill in his eight years that he hadn't lived yet. As he chatted he wondered if Scully looked a little older, her face rounder and eyes a little more lined. Though he thought it might be a delusion. As he thought that, he chuckled thinking the whole thing must be a delusion and he relaxed and enjoyed himself as he did on those occasions when he caught himself dreaming at night.

"Well, I better get Mulder back to to the real world," Scully said eventually.

"Surely he can stay," Dan said.

"He's a busy man, dad. You heard the kind of things he gets up to – and he always working 24/7."

"Yes, I've really got to make tracks Dan. But it's been great to catch up," Mulder said aware that the truce with Ricky was one that only physical and temporal distance made possible.

"It's a shame you didn't get to meet Christian," Dan said. Scully's son had come up in the conversation earlier and Mulder hadn't been able to read Scully's expression at all. As the day had progressed her face had become very expressionless and Mulder had even been wondering if she'd gone into shock.

"Maybe we could stay a while Mulder," Scully said.

"Well, I hope you're staying at any rate," Ricky said gently annexing Scully with a touch.

She looked at him surprised and Mulder stepped in. "Sure, as soon as she's dropped me off. I hate long goodbyes so why don't we go back to the car and she can take me back into the city. We parked up near the church so Scully could show me around."

"Nothing much to see here except rows of houses and peace and tranquillity," Ricky said.

"Well, I see lots of houses, but the rest is a novelty. Come on Scully, before you get all settled in for the night."

As politely as he could, Mulder ushered Scully out of the house thanking Ricky and Dan for their hospitality and promising to return soon. He turned to make sure that they weren't being followed and guided Scully by her elbow to the end of the street and around the corner, heading towards the bank they had originally slid down.

As they were waiting for a car to pass Scully said, "Mulder, I have a son!"

"You don't have a son Scully. We don't know what the hell this is anyway. Maybe one of us is going to wake up tomorrow and find that it's all a dream, or we crashed the car and ended up in The Twilight Zone or something. Let's just get out of here."

"Mulder, I want to stay." Scully stopped abruptly. She didn't turn to go back and she wouldn't move forward.

"Mulder!"

Scully and Mulder looked round to where the car that had passed was stopped. The door was open and leaning out to look back at them was another Dana Scully."

"Stay where you are Mulder." Mulder had been about to walk over to the car. "If you want to come visit with me you're more than welcome. You remember that." She paused. "Like I remember this."

The Scully on the road looked up slowly fearing to meet the eyes of this other woman. As they saw each other properly they took a moment to appraise the woman they saw in front of them. Agent Scully, FBI, looking at Dana, wife and mother.

After a moment Dana said from the car, "Don't worry...you'll see Christian soon enough. It's worth the wait."

A tear slid from Scully's eye and then she managed a smile before turning away. Mulder looked at her and saw she was fine.

"You're not going to be expected back yet."

Dana cocked her head searching her memory for a day some eight years ago. "I'll tell them that you insisted on hitching a ride and letting me get back to my family. A thoughtful side to you that Ricky doesn't know exists." She smiled at him. "Really, we can always make a place for you at the table if you want to visit, wherever the hell you are now." She pulled the door shut.

Mulder ran over to the car and tapped on the window. Dana wound it down and looked up at him. She had not changed much. A few extra lines, perhaps a little extra weight. Not even enough that Ricky had really noticed, although he had not been entirely at ease with the Dana before him all afternoon. But all of this was more than compensated for by the mellow beauty than infused her. "You forgot to get the CD by the way."

Scully looked round to the passenger seat where a CD lay in its cellophane wrapping. She laughed and pushed it under the seat and with a final look at Mulder, pulled away.

Mulder watched the car until it had turned the corner and then went up to Scully, still standing in the street, looking into the distance. He put his arm around her and she turned to him and put her face into his shoulder. Then she took a deep breath and stood straight and allowed him to lead her towards the bank where they could still see grass churned from their bumpy arrival.

"Well, let's hope this works. This town's only big enough for one Dana Scully," Scully said with a terse smile.

And with that they clambered up the bank and into bright sunlight which reflected off the snow that covered everything. The wind had dropped and, although it was still very cold, with the sun shining it was not deadly or even painful to walk in.

The car hadn't been covered with much more snow, but it had frozen and getting the doors open was a problem and it took over an hour to get the car running and free of the drift it had been stuck in.

They drove in silence for some miles, Mulder at the wheel, each trying to think about what had happened. If it was real, if it meant anything. Finally, Scully spoke.

"I don't know what happened there. Maybe you're just in my dream as it was all that I ever wanted. Maybe you get some idea of how I feel about Ricky now, next time you're making things difficult."

"Well, whatever happens, it looks like it turns out for the best," Mulder said.

"I don't want to think about it any more Mulder. Not out loud anyway. Maybe I'm afraid we've gone crazy, or maybe I don't want to jinx it. I'm sorry there was nothing there for you to look forward to though."

Mulder shrugged. "I don't know. It's made me feel very positive about this trip. I think our little Canadian expedition is definitely going to be worthwhile."

Scully glanced at him. "I hate it when you smile like that Mulder."


End file.
